ABSTRACT
Socio-economic status continues to be one of the strongest predictors of educational outcomes, as it has been since it came into prominence as a research issue more than thirty years ago. Almost all educational outcomes, such as initial reading achievement, referrals to special education, discipline and behavior problems, years of education completed and grades achieved are strongly correlated with family income. Educators were, of course, aware long before the research on the subject that poverty had deleterious impacts on education. Poverty rates have not declined despite the enormous growth in two-income families. Poverty may well be discussed by school boards or administrators without appearing in official records of such meetings, especially if the discussion is general in nature and does not lead to any specific actions or recommendations. The impacts of poverty are very visible in many schools, and change the whole nature of some schools.
